Friday, April 17, 2015

Hand-painting Crane Suzu Bells


Handpainting Demo of Crane Bicycle Bells from somafab on Vimeo.

As you know art isn't easy. Though some artists sure make it look easy.
Here is Nami, the artist who hand paints those exquisite Crane Suzu bells showing us how she does it. These bells come in 10 different classic Japanese design. Available in bike shops all over and on our SomaFab Store. My personal favorite is the Japanese maple.

Friday, April 10, 2015

The Gator Bar Can Swallow the Junebug Bar!



We are introducing a fun new dirt drop/alt bar called the Gator. It's wide. It's alternative. Offer extra leverage. Lots of room in the grip area. And the 190mm grip area tapers from 23.8mm to 22.2mm, so it can take mountain grips and flat bar levers. Will take aero levers, too.

Specifications:

- 6061 butted aluminum
- Width: 655mm at ends, center-to-center
- Width: 505mm at front of drops, center-to-center
- Width of flats on top: 340mm
- Center: 31.8mm
- Drops flare out at 20° angle
- Weight: 400g
- No cable grooves
- Shotpeen finish
- Black or silver

The Gator's reach and bends are similar to the Junebug bar (and its 26.0mm cousin, the Portola). There is a a little more flare in the drops.
Not sure how to convey its exact "drop", since we usually run these bars with the drops angled, so it depends on where you position your hands and what angle you set the drops in. We expect some folks would maybe trim the drops down if they don't need all that space, but if you wanna run grip shifters, this is your ticket.